Belichick Gives New Meaning to Game Face

FOXBOROUGH, Ma. -- The voice is answering-machine perfect. There is no modulation, no emphasis on any particular syllable. The words sound as though they have been sand-blasted to the same size, passed through a filter at the end of some long plastic tunnel, delivered now on a conveyor belt of bland conversation. All emotion has been removed. If there were a color attached to these words the color would be gray. No doubt about that.

“We’re rolling into the week here,” New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick says at an obligatory media appearance in preparation for his team’s coming AFC playoff confrontation with the Houston Texans. “Obviously the Texans are a real good football team... Excellent game for them last week against Cincinnati. I thought they really played well in all three phases of the game. We know it’s going to be a big challenge for us on Sunday. I think the Texans just do pretty much everything well: they run the ball, they can stop the run, they can throw it, they can play pass defense, rush the passer, good in the kicking game, well coached, sound, lot of good football players, very talented team. We’re going to have to play our best game and hopefully that’s where we’ll be able to be by Sunday.”